Search

Late Monday night Coachella dropped its 2016 lineup. With Guns n’ Roses and LCD Soundsystem as headliners (and both reuniting) leaked early on, the anticipation was only building for the remainder of the lineup. My hats off to the Goldenvoice team for putting together yet another massive lineup for music fans to salivate at. This year is clearly very dance heavy (as expected) and obviously there is going to be more electro(nic) incorporated into the Coachella Stage and Outdoor Theater stage. Also with Calvin Harris drawing the largest crowd in Coachella Stage history in 2014 it’s no surprise to see him headlining as well this year. I’ll get to may favorite small line artists below but I think the most interesting part of the lineup is at the bottom which states “DESPACIO All Weekend Long;” and should get every LCD Soundsystem (and music) fan excited because if you aren’t familiar, DESPACIO is a side project of James Murphy and 2manydjs! It’s so rad, see for yourself, HERE.

The top line artists speak for themselves but let’s get into the fun stuff, discovery. Here are my quick hits to the artists you may not know but should by April. If I had to name just one of the below for your to really get lost in, Gallant. Oh baby!

It’s Friday, the jump off and before we race into May next week here’s a playlist to get your through to the weekend! Many artists you have heard of with fresh materials, a few newbies and a couple surprises. Hope you enjoy!

Thanksgiving gave me a minute to sit back and have a little fun putting together a Top Tracks of 2013 playlist. This clearly doesn’t include all of the great music that has filtered our ears this year but it is a collection of music that has been on rotation for me in 2013. I tried not to duplicate artists (I could have gone on for days with whole albums from the likes of Vampire Weekend, Cayucas, White Denim, Bastille, etc.) so I hope you like this playlist which should keep you going for hours and perfect for some holiday road trips.

I don’t know about anyone else but I’m stoked about a new Of Monsters and Men track (ok, ok I know it came out weeks ago but I’m getting caught up with the real world finally). It’s not the full song but here’s a minute and a half of “Silhouettes” from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The motion picture soundtrack with the full track drops November 19.

I say it often, I am very fortunate for the opportunities and things I get to experience and the last three weeks have been nothing short of amazing (Yes, I still need to write a post about Festival Generation Week from the beginning of the month, such a cool five days).Last week I recapped the week in music that was to me, Coachella East and this past week I was back at it again for round two.

It started on Monday night catching Beach House at House of Blues.I had wanted to see their show for some time and there was a good turnout for show at the beginning of the week.The show was just okay and left me trying to find a bit more energy to stay awake.However, Holy Shit opened up and I have to say, a little fine tuning and these guys are going to be fun to see live.

Tuesday it was time for The xx at The Joint.My first time seeing The xx it got rained out a couple songs in, the second time I just got up and left so the third time I wasn’t sure what to really expect and they did not disappoint.I was floored by how good the show was and as my friend Abby would say, LASERS!There were a ton of them.Definitely caught up with a lot of friends at the show too which made it an even better evening.

Wednesday night, I had this one earmarked for some time; split billing of Local Natives and Of Monsters and Men at The Cosmopolitan.But before that, I had the chance to head over to the CBS Radio studios earlier in the day and catch a mini Of Monsters and Men set. So talented and seeing them in an intimate setting, again, has me spoiled.Now to the show; I had caught a Local Natives show at SXSW and was amped to catch them again and they flat out destroyed it in front of a sold out crowd.These guys are primed for a monster break out this year.As for OMAM, the show was good, the band was on point but unfortunately I think the cool weather and whipping winds made it seem a bit tame instead of a giant sing-a-long dance party on The Strip.

Thursday my body gave out and I had to miss Hot Chip.I was told the show was great and I’m bummed I missed out but my body won.

When Friday rolled around the energy level came right back up as it was all about The Postal Service.Reunited after 10 years since they released Give Up!A chance to see Jenny Lewis again!And LED overload!Definitely was a lot of fun and after seeing Death Cab For Cutie a couple of times, was great to finally see The Postal Service.

Saturday it was a first for me as I attended my first country music concert!I have no idea how many thousands of concerts I’ve been to but until Saturday night that category of country music was empty.Yes, I had seen Garth Brooks’ show at Wynn but that was a show, not a concert.My first country music concert was Kenny Chesney and it may have been the perfect artist to see live.So much energy and an awesome environment, I felt right at home (if only I knew the lyrics to his songs).Add on top of that the concert was two and a half hours which included a four song set with Grace Potter and I was thrilled.After the show it was straight to The Cosmopolitan to catch the second half of the Band of Horses concert.Getting to finally hear “The Funeral” live was a great way to wrap up a two week marathon of concerts.

A special tip of the cap to my friends at The Cosmopolitan, Hard Rock and House of Blues for lighting up Las Vegas the last two weeks with a plethora of fantastic shows. The music scene continues to grow here and we are breaking out of the mold where bands skip Vegas and instead they now crave playing Vegas! Thank you!

Here are some images from the shows.The week would not have been nearly as much fun if I wasn’t surrounded by an amazing group of friends who make every experience that much more memorable. Thanks for being a part of this real life dream with me.The best is yet to come, I promise you that!

Let me break it down like this. I couldn’t make the Outside Lands Music Festival work with my dates but for those going, here are the acts I would be seeing and who you need to check out. Hope y’all going have a great time, especially with all the food and drink to enjoy. And if you see Chefs Sobel and Varley from the Michael Mina stable, tell them I said hey.

Alabama Shakes – yes everyone should know them by now but their live performance, whoa amazing!

Allen Stone – incredible entertainer, unreal voice, a star in music for years to come

Big Gigantic – get ready to get your groove on with these funktified musicians

Bomba Estereo – get your Columbian dancing feet ready

City and Colour – if any of you remember Dallas Green, this is his band

Cory Chisel – been waiting a while to see him live

Die Antwoord – seriously amazing live and at a festival, look out

Dispatch – reunited and rocking better than ever. If you were like me and never had the chance to see them live, now’s your chance

Electric Guest – rising very fast, great entertainers, fun live show

Honey Island Swamp Band – oh yes, these guys are so funky and goofy but fun live

Jukebox The Ghost – This may be the band I am most excited for everyone going to see. AMAZING

Michael Kiwanuka – amazing talent from the UK with a golden voice

MSTRKRFT – P A R T Y

Neil Young & Crazy Horse – do I need to say more! Saw them last in 2001, Rotterdam

Of Monsters and Men – the seven piece Icelandic troupe not only have one of the most popular songs of the year but are incredible live

Passion Pit – at Lollapalooza they delivered an energetic performance for the books, peeling of hits and lots of new material. Get ready to dance

Regina Spektor – I love her voice and am still hoping to see her live one day

Rebelution – if you are looking for a little reggae-rock

Sigur Ros – new album is out, that should be

Stevie Wonder – so jealous, sent Mom and Dad to see him last NYE

Tame Impala – jam on

Tanlines – pop over for a song or two

The Kills – sick duo that will have you feeling it

The Walkmen – a ton of fun live

Thee Oh Sees – are you a fan of The Black Lips?

White Denim – if you’ve never seen them live, get ready to rock out as these Texas boys jam on

Well now that I’ve covered most of the lineup, hahaha, enjoy the show!

I can sum my Lollapalooza experience up quite easy: an incredible time with great friends.

Any chance I get to return to the city of my birth I’m excited but add in a music festival with 100,000 people in Grant Park and you crank it up to 11. This year I approached Lolla a bit different and wasn’t running from show to show. I took the pace down a little and really stepped back to enjoy it a bit more. I was late to some shows which was unfortunate but at the end of the three days I was still stoked about who I saw and just wonder what may have happened if the Saturday afternoon storm evacuation didn’t cancel acts like Alabama Shakes, The Temper Trap, B.o.B. and the band I was most hoping to see, The Dunwells. Props to C3 Presents for acting swiftly to recover and push back start times, reschedule bands like fun., Chairlift, Empires, etc. C3 also did an incredible job of scheduling overall forcing the crowd to pick and choose like I’ve never seen. When you are looking at a mile walk from the Bud Light Stage to the Red Bull Stage, it’s just not really possible to get everywhere you want to be unless you are a marathon sprinter.

Headliners: I have to be honest, you shouldn’t have gone to Lollapalooza just for the headliners. Talented musicians indeed (and ones I like) but you can’t compare The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Avicii, Justice, Jack White and Red Hot Chili Peppers to last year’s of Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Eminem, Foo Fighters and Deadmau5.

My First Show: O Rappa

My Final Show: Technically Jack White but essentially I caught all four final acts bumping to Kaskade, hearing Childish Gambino drop “Heartbeat” and hearing one of my favorite Justice songs, “On’n’On.”

My Moment of Joy: Seeing the rambunctious overfilled crowd on hand for Of Monsters and Men Sunday night time slot.

My Favorite Show: Didn’t actually happen at Lollapalooza. Off-site Of Monsters and Men show on the rooftop of a condo tower for Gilt City’s ‘Better Than Backstage’ party. Thanks to my friend Nicole for making it happen! Seriously one of the top three bands I was dying to see at the festival and here I am just inches away as they rocked out. A tip of the hat to an amazing group of musicians doing big things.

Best Overall Show: Die Antwoord, my second time seeing them and this was just flat out awesome. They had the crowd mesmerized and loving every moment of this high energy set.

Best Bud Light Stage Show: For me, Passion Pit – flat out great performance but easily it was Florence + The Machine, she had at least half the festival goers on hand to hear that incredible voice. I remember the first time I saw her was in a small tent at Bonnaroo and she owned Lollapalooza. Say hello to next year’s festival circuit headliner.

Best Red Bull Stage Show(s): I guess The Black Keys, those guys are just so honed in and solid in front of big crowds.

Best Playstation Stage Show(s): Die Antwoord, Gary Clark Jr.

Best Sony Stage Show: Last year I spent the most time at this stage. This year I only really saw Miike Snow.

Best Google Play Stage Show: The Gaslight Anthem, the Jersey rockers did exactly that making the most of their 45 minute set.

Best BMI Stage Show: Well the only one I actually got to this year was Outasight and he had the crowd bouncing.

Best Perry’s Stage Show: In truth, I didn’t even see a show here, passed by a lot but didn’t get caught up in the pandemonium but the stage setup that may have been the best show. LED bonanza creating quite the visuals.

Overall Stage With The Best Performances: Hands down Google Play, they stacked the deck with this stage and fans responded packing all of these shows. Big time acts like The War on Drugs, Blind Pilot, SBTRKT, Band of Skulls, Dawes, Wale, GIVERS, fun., Washed Out Twin Shadow, Frank Ocean, Of Monsters and Men, The Gaslight Anthem, Hey Rosetta!, The Big Pink, Childish Gambino

Biggest Surprise: How much I enjoyed the Metric show.

Best Legend Show: I just have to say Black Sabbath for the sheer fact that I saw Black Sabbath, even if Ozzy is starring into gigantic teleprompters and not sounding too good.

Random Moment(s) Of Awesomeness: fun. show being rescheduled after the Saturday evacuation and just owning the crowd for a 35 minute set filled with their hits.

Most Entertaining Show:Die Antwoord, if you’ve never seen them, you can’t help but be entertained

Most Disappointing Moment: not getting to see a bunch of acts I was super excited to see for the first time like Milo Greene, First Aid Kit and The Dunwells (the rain ruined that one for me) and some of my favorites like GIVERS, Chancellor Warhol, DAWES.

Next Big Thing: I want to say The Dunwells but the evacuation for the storm forced a cancellation of this show. And I sincerely hope more people discover Michael Kiwanuka; he’s got an incredible voice, great songs and is an absolute treat to listen to live.

Giving it a shot: The Devil Makes Three and I absolutely loved them.

Top Party: I’m giving this to Passion Pit because it was entertaining, full of energy and well I am a fan.

Funky Good Time Show: Gary Clark Jr.

Band I Was Sad To Miss: Sigur Ros

Best Intro: Rahm Emanuel introducing The Black Keys

What Would Have Been Great: Having less scheduling conflicts so I could see more bands

Top Moment: Choosing to skip Milo Greene, Chancellor Warhol, JEFF The Brotherhood and GIVERS for a once in a lifetime moment with Of Monsters and Men on the rooftop with the Chicago skyline serving as the background.

Best Festival Eat/Drink: Uncorked Wine Lounge

Best Place To Cool Off: I didn’t really find one and it was hot and humid

Biggest Waste of Time: The Toyota Crane game thing that totally wasn’t a crane

Evacuation Nation: Wow, getting 100,000 people out of the park in approximately 30 minutes before the torrential storm came in was pretty incredible. Holed up in a steamy Irish Pub with $6 Bud Lights wasn’t ideal but it was festive and one of those random things you won’t soon forget.

Clutch Move: Popping out a little early on Friday night to head over to Big Star, my favorite taco and mescal joint in town.

Tip For Next Year: Coming a day early again and leaving on a later flight on Monday.

More Tips: drink water, more water, sunscreen is your second best friend after water, if you see someone struggling give them a hand or find someone to help.

Lollapalooza Week on DoYouHearTheMusic.com continues with another rising act you should most definitely be listening to.

Two words: Milo Greene

Who? Not just one person as you may imagine (and some people really thought) but rather a five-piece band from Southern California

What? “a collection of voices that live and breathe simultaneously with the breadth of an omniscient, collective consciousness”

Why you should listen? You ever have that moment when you just need to chill out and disappear from the world? Tune into this when that happens

A reason you’ll be excited? Listen to the tracks “1957” and “Silent Way”

Why I’m excited: These guys are brilliant. How else do you explain them creating an alias, “Milo Greene,” while in college to serve as their booking agent/manager? Fast forward as they morphed into literally, Milo Greene. Musically, I love how these five individuals have found a way to craft a whole bunch of music styles under one roof through each of their own unique strengths. When listening to the self titled album I feel like I’m being taken on an adventure and I like it.

If you like: Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers, Vacationer, The Apache Relay

Final thoughts: I really dig Marlana Sheetz’s voice, stunning. Check out their performance on Letterman earlier this summer. And at Lollapalooza, Milo Greene pulled an early time slot but for those of you going, this is a great way to start your Saturday. Bring a blanket and just chill out on the grass as you watch this rising band take you on your own adventure.

My recommendation, arrive early and stop at the Google Play stage to a couple songs from the Kopecky Family Band and then continue moving to the Playstation Stage for Milo Greene.

Disclaimer:

DoYouHearTheMusic.com was created to bring added awareness to artists and bands that we love. MP3's/videos/photos/artwork posted are to help spread the word and only to be used in a positive manner. If you like what you hear, support the artists. If you are an artist featured on DoYouHearTheMusic.com and/or the author of a song/video/link/artwork posted on the site and wish to have your content removed, just contact us.